312F Spring 2026 Welcome to Iran, Land of the Aryans

312F  Welcome to Iran, Land of the Aryans
Two sessions
Instructor: Preston Burns
Mondays, 2:15—3:40, Apr. 20—Apr. 27
This presentation is an overview of Iran's 3000-year history, religion, culture, politics, climate, and geography with special attention and insight into Zoroastrianism, Sharia Law, the Sunni-Shi'ite rift, our CIA coup, and the revolutions of the 20th century. The sessions will be a photo tour of Iran with historical commentary. It is also the story of the instructor’s personal and private adventure traveling through Iran with emphasis on the incidents and accidents that happened along the way. Iran was the center of the world for nearly 1500 years and has certainly been the center of attention for the last 55 years. The instructor’s prearranged Iranian guide was especially good because he was an English professor at Tehran University and an avid student of world history and religion. Everything had already been read about Persia and Iran, but with the guide’s knowledge over eight days on the ground, a crash course in the real Iran was received. 
G. Preston Burns grew up in Fredericksburg, VA, graduating from UVA with a degree in Economics in 1969 and the Medical College of VA in 1973. He's traveled to all 50 states and over 100 countries. He's given lectures on dental procedures that he developed, his trips to Timbuktu and Iran, and is the author of two books.